Summary
Incredible Edible already run weekly edible gardening club sessions at six locations in the district and our latest initiative is to enable service users from mental health and learning disabilities services to come along to Fieldhead to take part in therapeutic horticulture during the morning and then be involved out in the community in the afternoon by visiting our edible community gardens and taking part in gardening activities at these locations.
Sessions will be led by a leader with experience in working with service users experiencing mental health challenges and the initiative will act as a link with these gardening clubs, enabling participants at Fieldhead to take part in one free session each week for a period of 26 weeks for 6 hours per session with time for lunch and transport included in this time.
Participants will have the option to be involved in either or both halves of the sessions but will be encouraged and supported to engage in the full session.
Outcomes
To improve the physical and mental wellbeing of service users through undertaking tailored therapeutic horticultural activities in a supportive group environment.
To expand on the horticultural activities currently offered on the Fieldhead site and complement them by introducing service users to community projects which they can continue to attend on completion of the project.
To create and establish a pathway between services offered on-site at Fieldhead and Incredible Edible growing projects so that service users can continue their recovery and play an active role in the local community.
To offer activities which provide service users with access to the five ways of wellbeing; connecting with peers, being involved in physical exercise, experiencing different and new environments, learning new skills and sharing their own skills with the group.
Referral
Sessions will be delivered by Incredible Edible, offering sessions to service users from mental health and learning disabilities services who wish to explore or extend their current horticultural activities and improve their own confidence and mental health in the process. We are aiming for the sessions not to be exclusive to one service user group but for it to be open and supportive without barriers.
Support offered during the project
The project will be offered over a long period which means that there is no requirement for people to attend the community based section of the sessions from the outset.
This will allow confidence and trust to establish between not only the session leader but between the group which will be able to support people who are anxious about attending a new environment.
The longevity of the project combined with the sessions being delivered in two parts (on-site and off-site) offers people flexibility and time to develop these relationships.
Participants will be shown how to grow plants and make items that can be used on the community sites which will create a fluid link between the two making the transition between them meaningful and productive.